Someone to Love Me
by I have beans
Summary: Eren is young and not looking to start a family or anything of the sort, but when a child comes to him lost and hungry, he has a change of mind. Eren decides to try and take care of this child to the best of his ability, and along the way he learns, there are worse things than titans. Beware: there are mentions of rape.
1. Chapter 1

_**Boring Author Comments, but please take one minute to read.**_

**Yay! First SNK story that has been sitting in my brain forever!**

**Okay, first thing you should know is that this is most definitely an alternate universe, where they're still behind walls and such, but it's a more modern setting, and as for our favorite _little _guy Levi, he's definitely different in this one. I thought it would be cute to do a story like this. So please, ignore the mistakes, this is my first SNK story, I'm in a new fandom, and I'm still towards the beginning of the series, and honestly, I shouldn't be writing this when I know so little about the characters and the actual series itself, but if I wait any longer I believe I shall die!Also, in case you haven't realized this yet, the characters are different. like, I don't want to portray Eren as the crazy titan killing machine everyone always says he is (I believe he cares about things other than killing titans, just saying.)  
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**Anyway I hope you enjoy and I hope this comes out as good as it seems in my head! Otherwise I'd go into a corner and shun myself for eternity!  
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><p>The woman held her tiny son in her arms. The woman held on as long as she could. She looked down and wiped the tears from the boy's eyes and smiled lightly to him.<p>

"Don't cry. Mommy will be right back." She reassured this small child in her arms. "Just remember... mommy loves you." She kissed his dirty little head and set him down. She walked away down the dark scary alley way, and the boy waited.

He waited and waited and waited. His mommy never returned. The boy was just sure she fell asleep. She sometimes fell asleep. He went to look for her.

"Mommy?" He called out looking around. He called for her over and over again, but she never came back. The child stood in the cold alley and he looked for his mother. The one that loved him. The one that he loved. He started to cry. He didn't know what to do without his mommy. He felt lost and confused. Where was she?

A few months passed by and the child was starving. Usually his mom would've gotten him food by now. The boy came across a big building where rich people must've lived. It was big. He crawled through the vents and the first opening he came across, he went through. He landed on the floor and went to a cupboard. He found a jar and went to open it, but it didn't open and his grip slipped. The boy watched in horror as the jar fell and hit the ground with a loud crash.

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><p>It was a peaceful night for Eren Jeager. After a long day of Hanji probing and poking and testing and making him transform, he was happy to finally get some peace and quiet. It was quiet, and he was happy that not a lot of people were making a lot of noise outside, because if anything destroyed the peace, he wouldn't hesitate to kill the thing that disturbed him.<p>

There was a gentle breeze coming in from the window, and he love the feeling of the cool against his skin.

_Thump_.

Eren thought nothing of the sound and he dozed off, figuring it was just someone outside trying to get back to their barrack. That is, until there was the loud crash of a jar breaking. Eren shot up out of bed and growled curses under his breath. He was exhausted and not in the mood for any kind of prank or anything of the sort.

He inspected the small living room along with the bathroom and small office area. Nothing. He walked into the kitchen where he found a jar laying in front of the counter, shattered, and the sticky grape jam inside leaking out on to the floor. Eren walked around trying to figure out what had done that. Perhaps something in his cupboard fell and knocked the jar down. But Eren knew something was off. It was just a tiny feeling.

'What on Earth...?' He followed the small trail of jam to the area between the cupboard and counter, a very tiny child had wedged them self back there and was looking at Eren wide eyed and panicked. The child looked and smelled awful.

His hair had mud stuck to it, his feet were brown with dirt and possibly more mud, his clothes were at least three sizes too big, ragged and torn, dirty and ripped, and he was very tiny, he almost looked like a fragile doll. Eren looked at him and noticed a few bruises peeking out from the collar of the shirt and he sighed.

At first there was a twinge of anger, but as he looked at the boy, his anger subsided and pity came next. Eren reached in to help him out but the boy pressed himself back further whimpering in fear.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." Eren spoke in a cool calm voice trying to find out more about this kid and why he was here. "Can you come out here for me?"

The boy stayed there watching Eren. If Eren really wanted to, he could've pulled the child out, but he didn't want to scare him any further.

"Are you hungry? Is that why you're here?" Eren waited for a response and when he got none he stood and got a piece of bread and put some honey on it and returned to the boy. "Here. You can have this, I put honey on it so it will taste really good. Go on, take it. I wont hurt you I promise."

The boy stared at him for a minute but couldn't deny the fact he was hungry. No, he was starving. He reached out cautiously and grabbed the bread and quickly held it to his chest, protecting it, making sure Eren wouldn't trick him and take it back.

When he felt confident Eren wouldn't take it back, he nibbled on it, surprised at first that the bread tasted sweet. He loved it.

"My name is Eren Jaeger. Do you have a name?" The boy stayed silent and watched Eren not sure what to make of the man who was feeding him and talking to him like nothing was wrong.

Eren sighed when the boy still stayed silent. He then cautiously held out his hand. "Are you thirsty? Maybe you would like something to drink?" And again, he didn't get a reply.

The child sat in the cramped space as Eren spoke to him, trying to get him out of the space, and eventually, the child cautiously crawled towards Eren. Even standing, the boy looked horribly small. He was crying a little and watching Eren with hope that this man wouldn't hurt him.

Eren used slow and cautious movements, he was sure to watch the child's reactions when he would move. Although he was dead tired, this child intrigued him.

"Where are your parents?" Eren tried. He watched the boy who looked to the floor.

"Gone..." The child whimpered the word. It surprised Eren that the boy had spoken, but even his voice was quiet and it sounded fragile.

"I see... how did you get into the military base?" Eren watched the child shift in fear and he pointed to the vent.

"Y-you're not gonna hurt me are you?" The child asked looking at Eren in fear, tears forming in his small tired eyes.

"No, I promise I wont hurt you." Eren watched the boy who seemed to still not know if he should trust this strange man or not. Eren got the boy a glass of water and watched as he ignored it and instead planted his thumb into his mouth. Eren wasn't sure what to think of the boy, and he wasn't sure what to do. He could always give him to the Military Police... but that could end horribly. The child already seemed terrified of his own shadow, and he didn't want to make him even more terrified than he already was.

The little boy on the other hand was taking his time to look around the seemingly big place. He couldn't help but notice the little things, the way the floor wasn't dirty and uneven, the way everything had a place and it was all clean, he knew he had stumbled into a rich man's place, and he wasn't sure what this rich man was going to do to him. Everything seemed so big to him, and it was new to be in such a place. He was used to the dirt and the smell of decay, he wasn't used to the clean feeling... and he kind of liked it.

"Can you tell me your name?" Eren tried again. Maybe this child didn't have a name, or maybe he didn't know it, but he still wanted to try to see if he could get any information out of the boy. What did he mean when he said his parents were "gone"?

The boy looked at Eren. Maybe this rich man was going to help him? "My mommy... called me Levi..." He replied quietly.

"Your name is Levi?" Eren asked actually surprised he got an actual answer.

"I guess." The boy really didn't know much. He knew his mom knew, but she left, and he didn't know where she went. He wanted to find her because he loved her and he wanted her back.

"Levi, how old are you?" Eren sighed when the boy held up 4 fingers. "So you're four?" The child nodded. "Where have you been sleeping?"

"Outside."

Eren didn't know how to respond to that. He felt angered towards the boys parents. Who would let their child sleep outside? Where were his parents and why weren't they taking care of their child?

"Why don't you spend the night with me until we can figure out where your mom and dad are?" Eren suggested.

Levi looked at Eren like he was crazy. A rich man was actually inviting him inside to stay with him, even after he tried to steal from him? This had to be a trick... a horrible horrible prank. But what if he wasn't joking? What if it meant he got to sleep in a warm place, even if it was on the floor, he didn't care.

"I'm willing to let you stay here, but we got to give you a bath first okay? It wont be too bad, we just got to get the mud and dirt off so that way I can actually see your face and so you don't smell as bad. Is that okay with you?" Eren didn't want to push Levi into doing anything he wasn't comfortable with doing (even if it was something as simple as getting a bath) he wanted Levi to trust him.

But the child nodded. The concept of a bath was foreign to him, the only way he knew how to get "clean" was to wait until it started to rain and go out into it. But even that didn't clean him.

Eren reached his hand out for the child to take it, and to his surprise, the child took it this time. He followed Eren into this newer place he had only heard about. There were these areas where water would come out just because you wanted it to, there was a brush, an actual toilet, it was amazing. The child had never seen anything like this before. He was amazed again by the littlest things this rich man had. Eren turned on the shower and Levi looked to him amazed.

"You can control the rain?" He asked. It looked like rain, it was pouring from the ceiling, and it was water.

Eren chuckled. "I guess you could say that." He helped the boy get undressed and get inside, and the child was still amazed on how this rich man could control the rain. He noticed Eren leaving and he panicked slightly. He didn't want to be alone anymore, the thought alone terrified him.

"Wait!" The child looked at Eren hoping he would come back. "Please don't go. I'm sorry."

Eren turned back around and looked at Levi obviously confused. "Why are you sorry?"

"I don't want you to leave." The child whimpered. "I'm sorry if I made you mad."

"You didn't make me mad." Eren walked back over and knelt down next to the tub. "I just thought you would want some privacy."

Privacy. That was another foreign concept to the child. This rich man was using words he had never heard of before, or if he had heard them, he didn't know the meaning of them.

"But if you want I will stay." Eren made himself comfortable on the floor and Levi "cleaned" himself making sure Eren was still there every few seconds. In the end, Eren helped Levi clean most of the dirt off of him, it was like the boy had no idea how to clean himself. He still had dirt caked on his head and legs.

Even they were finished, instead of putting the same dirty clothes back on, Eren gave the boy one of his. Eren still had shirts from when he was a kid and he had never really bothered to get rid of them. Even though they were way too small to fit Eren, they were still way too big for Levi. But after using what felt like a thousand safety pins, the shirt finally stayed up on its own.

Eren got a pillow and a blanket and put it on the couch for Levi, and when Eren went back to his room, Levi got upset.

"Wait! I thought you said you were gonna stay!" The little boy whimpered. Eren stopped and thought to himself for a minute.

Even though he would be in the next room, the small child still saw that as being left. Eren sighed. Could there really be any harm from letting the child sleep with him?

"Well why don't you come sleep with me?" Eren suggested. Levi quickly ran over to Eren not giving him the chance to change his mind. The two got situated in the bed and Eren made sure Levi was alright. The child had to be exhausted because after a couple minutes, the child was passed out with his thumb planted firmly in his mouth. Eren smiled lighty. The child was so small and so adorable. What kind of person would leave this sweet and innocent child all alone outside. It made him very angry and it made his heart break at the thought of this child alone in the cold wondering what he ever did wrong.

Eren knew he wasn't ready to have a child, (he could barely take care of himself!) but he would try his hardest to care for this child, he knew that this boy needed him and wanted him a lot. Eren couldn't abandon him. That was the last thing this child needed.


	2. Chapter 2

Eren kept Levi for the first week, and in that week he learned a lot about that kid. Levi didn't know how to use simple things, like he had a hard time drinking from a regular cup, he kept dumping water on himself or dropping the cup. The child required a nap everyday or he would become whiny and even violent sometimes. Eren had gone to the market with Levi and Eren got him new clothes and a few toddler cups for Levi. Eren made sure to get juice too so Levi had his own drink that he liked. Levi didn't like to be alone and Eren couldn't even go to the bathroom alone. Levi started having really bad nightmares and Eren wanted to help him, but he didn't know how or what to do. The child would get scared and when he woke up, Eren would try to calm him down Levi would get really scared and start fighting with Eren, he would bite and scratch Eren out of terror. Eren felt worried for the kid but he had no idea what to do. He could only assume it has something to do with the bruises.

So Eren asked about the bruises, and the only answer he got was Levi shrugging and saying, "I fell down." And Eren knew that wasn't true. Levi had started to become very attracted to Eren, and Eren knew it. He didn't want to get too attached to Levi either, but he did, and he felt like he needed to protect the child from every bad thing out there. But he wasn't sure he was going to be able to keep Levi.

By two weeks, they had developed a schedule. Levi wasn't used to a bed time or a set time to take naps, so it was hard during bed time. Levi would wake up around 7 in the morning, and they would have breakfast. Then until noon, it was "play time" and Levi and Eren would watch a movie, go out, or play hide and seek. That was Levi's favorite game because he could easily find small places to hide that Eren would never think to look in. It was lunch time after that, and if Levi was good, he could watch a movie while he took a nap. After Levi would wake up, it would be snack time and at 5 out was dinner time, Levi would take a bath after and he could then play until 8 when he had to go to bed.

They slowly started getting used to each other and Levi started trusting Eren.

It was a little over two weeks since Eren found Levi, and they were sitting on the couch when Levi asked, "Where's my mommy?" Eren didn't know and he had to think of an answer. The child was looking at him, looking for an answer.

Levi thought of Eren as this smart, rich guy who knew everything, maybe he could tell him where his mother was.

"Levi I... don't know... im sorry." Eren looked at the hope leave Levi's eyes and the boy looked down crying a little.

"Oh... okay..." Levi wanted his mom, he missed her and he wanted to be with her more than anything.

"Levi, I'm sorry, honestly, I don't even know who your mom is..." Eren thought for a minute. "But, I think we can go to the doctor, you need a check up anyway, and we could see there if there's any records for you or your mom." Eren thought out loud.

Levi felt hope again, maybe these record things could get him his mommy back! "Let's go now!" Levi said excitedly getting up and trying to pull Eren up as well.

"Hold on little boy, it's almost one, and you need to take a nap before we go anywhere. I dont want you mad and pissed off and throwing a tantrum. If you take a nap like a big boy we'll go." Eren knew this was going to end with a temper tantrum, and he was ready for it. Nap time usually started with a temper tantrum because Levi was used to doing what he wanted when he wanted, Eren had set a schedule for him and expected him to follow that schedule.

"But im not tired!" The boy whined. "I wanna go!"

"After your nap we will go."

"No! I wanna go now! Not later!"

"Levi, the sooner you take a nap, the sooner we can go see." Eren watched the boy dramatically lay on the floor and start to cry. It didn't matter if the child knew that Eren could just decide to abandon him, he was still a little kid.

"No!"

"Either you calm down and get up here on the couch, or we will go to the bedroom and you won't get a movie."

The boy didn't listen and Eren sighed and grabbed the boy a cup of juice, he then picked up the crying child and went and laid down with him in the bed.

"But I don't want to!"

"I didn't ask, it's time to lay down and go to bed Levi." Eren cuddled the boy because Levi loved being cuddled with, and that way Eren could keep him laying down on the bed. It took about ten minutes before Levi calmed down and started sucking on his cup, and shortly after that, Levi was out like a light. Eren rubbed his back until he knew the boy was fully asleep, and he slowly got up.

He wasn't ready to take on the responsibilities of being a guardian, but if he had to he would. Besides, as long as he started calm and kept a reasonable thought while he dealt with Levi, then everything would be okay and easy, it just took patience. Yeah, Eren would get frustrated and irritated with Levi's behavior, but he was four. You can't really expect a four year old to behave properly.

Eren went out to the living room and decided to read a book. Another thing he noticed about Levi was that the child couldn't count past ten, he didnt know his abc's, and he just wasn't book smart. But he never really got the chance to learn either.

Eren was very nervous though. He would admit that he really liked the kid, and he even loved him, but he wasnt sure he could care for such a small child. The kid depended on Eren for a lot of things like food for example. But Levi also needed Eren's full attention and Eren didn't want to mess this kid up any further than everyone else had.

He also didn't feel angry towards Levi's mom anymore, it sounded like the boy didn't have a dad, and his mother had "friends" that liked her a lot.

Eren assumed that those same "friends" were the ones that gave Levi those bruises.

It was about two hours later when Levi woke up. He always came out tired and irritated when Eren would leave him to sleep by himself.

"You left."

Eren sighed. "I know, but I wanted to read a book."

"But you left."

Trying to negotiate with a four year old wasn't worth it. His mind was set that Eren left him despite being only one room over.

"Fine, come here." Levi ran over and hugged Eren. He loved the attention Eren gave him and the affection. It was nice not being cold and always having someone to go to. His mom wasn't always there for him, but Eren was.

Eren hugged the child back and picked him up and set the tiny kid on his lap.

"You are going to have to behave, okay? We're going to the doctor and you're not going to like what they do to you." Eren warned him. He didn't want Levi to be surprised with needles, he wanted Levi to trust him.

"Why?" Levi asked now very curious as to what they would do to him.

"Well... they're probably going to give you a shot or two."

"What's that?" Levi asked again not understanding.

"A shot is when they poke a very tiny hole in your arm, and they put stuff in- or take stuff out- of you so you can be healthy and happy." Eren tried not to make it sound scary, he was hoping Levi would be okay with it and cooperate with the doctors.

"Does it hurt?"

"A little but only for a second."

Levi's eyes widened in horror. "They're gonna hurt me?!"

"Maybe, they might not even do it okay? So calm down, everything will be alright. I wont let them hurt you for no reason." Eren pat the boy on the head. "If your good, we can go stop by that toy store and get you a toy."

Levi nodded in agreement. He liked the idea of a new toy.

Eren made sure to get Levi a cup of juice before they left. Levi had a habit of sucking on his thumb when he was scared or nervous, and he liked to hold the cup because it was his and no one else's. Possessions were a big thing to the boy, those were _his _shirt and pants, and that was _his_ cup. No one but Eren was allowed to touch them. Levi was in the habit offs being carried when they were out in public, he was scared of the strangers and Eren wasn't going to force Levi to do anything he didn't feel comfortable with.

Levi was... different. And people could tell by his actions and by the stuff that came out of his mouth. Other four year olds really didn't require their parents to tell them what to do all the time, other four year olds were somewhat disciplined and knew the difference between right and wrong, Levi didn't. Eren had to keep a very close eye on him. If Levi got hungry, he would take an apple to eat and wouldn't think twice about it, nevermind the fact in reality he stole the apple, but he didn't realize he did something wrong until he was scolded and told not to do that again.

Other four year olds knew more than Levi did, that much was obvious, and Levi was naive to most of the things people did and bought on a regular basis.

"Why does he take the food? He's already fat." Eren had to stop the laughter, And after an hour of apologizing, the man left Levi alone and Eren ended up telling him to think it, not say it. Levi was a good kid he really was, but he didn't understand why some people did the things they did.

When they got to the doctor's office, Eren signed Levi in. In reality, he set the appointment a week ago, but he wasn't lying when he promised Levi they'd ask about his mother.

"I have a quick question." Eren caught the woman's attention and she looked at him, obviously bored out of her skull. "I have a boy by the name of Levi here, I'm wondering if you could see if he has been here before or if his mother or father has."

The woman sighed and looked through the files on the computer. "What's his last name?"

"I dont know." Eren replied truthfully.

"When is his birthday?"

"I dont know that either, but he is four years old." The woman looked through the files on the computer.

"Well, lucky for you, we have a match, the last time he was here was the day of his birth, four years ago, December 25th."

Eren nodded happy they found him. "What about his mom, or dad?"

She looked some more. "Well, his father is unknown, but his mom..." her eyes flickered to Levi who looked at her with hope. She stared into his face for a second before swallowing hard. "I... dont know." She replied.

"You don't know?!" Eren replied. "How can you not know?! Someone had to have given birth to him!"

The woman printed out a file and gave it to Eren before leaving without another word. Eren opened the folder and read.

**Last seen: reported dead upon arrival. Multiple bruises and bleeding wounds, signs of being strangled and raped.**

**Age: 18**

**Relatives: Levi Ackerman (4)**

Eren nodded in understanding, happy Levi couldn't read yet. There was a picture of her on the bottom left hand corner and Levi spoke up pointing. "My mommy! That's her!"

All Eren could think was 'of course it's her.' He looked at Levi who was smiling excitedly obviously wondering where she was. How could he tell Levi that his mom was dead?

"She was right Levi, we don't know where your mother is." Eren watched the child's eyes tear up.

"Shes... gone?" Levi felt hopeless and lonely. Even though Eren was right there, Levi felt abandoned and forgotten.

Eren could only assume that Levi was an "accident". No record of a father, the poor girl was young and had signs of being raped, that explains why Levi came from where he did. The girl had no home and was just living on the streets. That made him wonder if those bastards had also touched Levi that way. No doubt about it, they were probably the ones who gave the kid those bruises, they were the ones who killed his mom, and they were the reason all of this happened.

But Eren couldn't just tell Levi 'Hey your mom's dead, you weren't wanted by your mom anyway but she kept you...' no he couldn't say that.

"Listen Levi, she may be gone, but I will never leave you. Ever. I will always be here for you." He cuddled with the child who didn't do anything to deserve this. He was innocent, but the world is a cruel place, and those who don't fight won't win.


	3. Chapter 3

Levi had behaved for the exam. They told him to do something, he did it. It was easy, especially with Eren right there. He behaved and opened his mouth when told, he stood on a weird black platform, the lady put a weird black thing around his arm until it was so tight he felt his arm go numb... he did all of it. The nurse even showed him how to take care of his teeth, and she let him pick the color of the toothbrush he wanted. He chose green, he liked green.

Then came the big scary needles.

Levi looked at it and upon sight he leaped into Eren's lap. Those were the things that the doctor would use to hurt him.

Eren tried to get Levi to hold still for the shots, and he even promised that because Levi had to get his shots that Eren would get one for himself, but Levi didn't want to be hurt. In the end, Eren held Levi tightly to his chest as the doctor gave him the shots and from the cries that came from the boy, you'd be convinced someone was sawing his limbs off. He got cool bandaids though, they were all green and one had a frog, the other had a teddy bear, and the last was just green.

When all three shots were given to Levi, as promised Eren got his flu shot. It made Levi feel a little better seeing Eren do it, and after it all was done, Levi got a sucker.

He was still latched onto Eren the rest of the day though. He sucked on his sucker and cuddled with Eren. As promised, he was taken to a toy store. Levi had never been in one before. It was amazing seeing all those toys in one room. He wanted them all.

Eren told him he could get any one toy he wanted, but only one. Levi wasn't sure if he could pick just one, but he settled with a bear. A regular old teddy bear. Nothing special about him and Eren really wasn't surprised he picked something other kids would just look at with minor amusement.

They went back to Eren's place and Levi held on to that bear with a death grip.

"What are you gonna name him?" Eren asked.

Levi just shrugged and sucked his thumb.

"Well he has to have a name." Eren replied and Levi looked to the bear for a second.

"Mr. Bear." The boy replied.

"Mr. Bear?"

"Yeah, 'cause he's a boy bear and he's a bear. So Mr. Bear." Eren smiled. Such logic. But he wasn't going to argue with him (besides, there was nothing to argue about unless he wanted to tell the boy about the birds and bees).

Eren and Levi both fell asleep watching a movie, it was peaceful, the ten was just happy he didn't have to fight with Levi tonight. Eren went to sleep on the couch with Levi and heard a small rumble of thunder. He was happy it was going to rain, that meant training tomorrow wouldn't be so hot with the cool air, but it also meant humidity in the afternoon...

Eren woke a couple hours later, and went to move to the bed, the couch was giving him an ache in his neck.

He got up and noticed an absence of something...

"Levi?" He looked around using the bright flashes outside to look around the tiny living room. "Levi, where are you?"

He groaned lightly. There was a million areas this small child could squeeze himself into and it could take Eren hours to find the boy. The thunder roared loudly outside, and Eren wished it would stop for a minute do he could listen for any little noise that could give away the boy's location.

It was half an hour later when Eren found him, hiding in the closet tremibling and crying.

"Come here..." Eren picked the frightened child up, surprised by how tightly the small child held on to him. Was it a nightmare that scared him...?

A loud crash made the boy whimper and cry into Eren's neck, and then it became clear what was wrong.

"You don't like thunderstorms, do you?" Eren sighed and used his free hand to rub his eyes. He was exhausted. He had to train tomorrow, and he wasn't sure how he was going to get through it.

The teen laid with the boy in the bed and rubbed his back trying to soothe him.

Levi eventually just pulled the blankets over his head and held his ears tightly.

"Levi, the storm's going away..." Eren pulled the blankets down to look at him.

"H-how do you know?"

"Well, when you see a flash, you count until you hear a rumble." Eren waited until there was a flash and he started to count. "One. Two. Three. Four. Fiv-" the two listened to the rumble. "See, it is five seconds away from us, so five miles."

Levi tried, and Eren has to help him when he got to four because the boy didn't know anything passed that.

Thankfully, the storm didn't last much longer and the child fell asleep again and Eren was happy to follow suit.

It felt like five minutes later, it was time to get up.

The tired teen reluctantly got up and got ready. Once he was ready, he packed a small bag for Levi with some paper and markers, a blanket, and his treasured bear. He then woke Levi up with a cup of warm milk (the child really liked that when he woke up) and Eren carried Levi to where he was going to train.

No one seemed to mind Levi there, he never got in the way and he was a good child. Almost everyone loved him and thought he was cool or cute, but the child was very shy and didn't like it when people gave him all this attention.

Levi sat patently and waited for them to get done, and the training actually got let out early because another thunderstorm had come and no one wanted to use their gear with all the lightning around.

Eren was just packing Levi's things up when he heard soft footsteps.

"You know eventually someone is going to report the child in." Eren turned to see Petra kindly smiling at him.

"Y-yeah... I was actually going to see Erwin today to talk about him." Eren was purposefully avoiding the situation in fear Levi would be taken away.

"I'm sure if you explain the situation to Erwin, he will let you keep Levi." Petra assured him.

"I know..." Eren picked Levi up. "Well, I have to go talk to Erwin then, you don't think this could be a problem?"

"I don't see why, he's not disruptive, he's not loud, he's a good little boy. I know I'd let you keep him if I had the power."

"Well, wish us luck then! I hope this goes well, I really like the kid after all. Thanks for your reassurance." Eren waved as he walked away only hoping what Petra said was true.

He walked back to his place and got Levi some juice. "Alright little boy, you're going to meet someone very important. I need you to be really, really good. So, were going to take a nap, wake up, get food, get a bath, and then we'll go talk to him."

"I don't want a nap or bath." The child complained and Eren thought for a minute.

"Fine, we'll take a rest. We'll go lay on the bed, we don't have to go to sleep, but we do have to rest okay? I can read you a book, how does that sound?"

Levi nodded. He liked the sound of a rest. He didn't want a nap.

Eren thought he was pretty smart, especially when Levi willingly laid in bed and accidentally fell asleep. He put the book on the nightstand and enjoyed the quiet for the moment.

He liked the quiet. He didn't mind Levi, and the child was quieter than most four year olds, Eren was only 15 going into 16. He really wasn't planning for a little boy...

What was worse was some of the jokes. People would laugh and joke if him and Mikasa just went too far one night.

A couple fist fights broke out between Eren and some of the others, and they always resulted in the same thing: the Titan shifter getting a slap on the wrist.

If he was going to destroy civilization, wouldn't he have done it by now? As a matter of fact, he sat still through Hange poking and making him transform all in the name of science. If he wanted to destroy everything, Hange would be dead by now.

But that doesn't matter does it? He didn't realize he was so angry until he felt his nails dig into his own palms.

A few deep breaths and ending thoughts later, he was calm again. He focused on Levi for a moment and what the child would need when he woke up.

Then another thought poped into his head, Levi didn't know yet. What would happen when he found out? Would he be scared?

Eren pondered just telling him, but something told him that wouldn't end well...

The child slept longer than expected, and Eren felt bad when he had to wake the child up.

The teen sighed in annoyance when the child woke up with an attitude really not wanting to deal with him. Eren forced Levi to take a bath, and he had to forcefully hold the kicking child in the bath so he could be cleaned.

Getting dressed was just as fun, and Levi bit Eren's arm so hard it almost drew blood. Eren got really angry and grabbed Levi's arm tightly and matched him to the corner. The child decided he didn't like that and tried to bite Eren again but this time, Eren was expecting it and he flicked the side of Levi's jaw hard enough to cause a dull ache. The boy looked at Eren in both fear and shock.

"I will not be bit . Am I understood? " Eren put Levi back in the corner."Stay until I say you can leave."

The boy rubbed his jaw and softly cried. He was angry that he got woken up, he was angry he had to take a bath, he was angry that Eren put him in the corner, he was just angry!

Eren on the other hand was pissed. Did the child realize Eren could just throw Levi back outside? When Eren was calm and ready, he went to Levi and knelt so they were on the same level.

" Levi, why did you bite me?" Levi ignored him and Eren sighed in frustration. "Fine. Sit there for another five minutes."

"No!"

"Then talk to me."

"No! "

"Then you're staying there."

" No!"

Eren growled curses under his breath and glared at Levi who glared back. Why couldn't Levi just behave?

"Im tired of this attitude. Maybe I should give you to the Military Police." That got through to him and Levi violently shook his head.

"No! Im sorry!" He burst out. "I'll be good I promise!" Eren briefly wondered why Levi was so desperate not to go the them, but then again, drunk men can be scary to a small child.

"I don't like your attitude. Clean it up." The boy nodded sadly and Eren had decided another nap would be in order when they got back. He fixed Levi a sandwich and once it was eaten, they left. Eren was nervous...what if Erwin decided Levi couldn't stay? What would he do? He couldn't just let the kid go... then another thought came, what if Levi acted up to the point where Erwin took him then and there?

With a shaky hand, he knocked on Erwin's door and entered when he was told to.

He saluted accordingly knowing the Commander was distracted by the small boy hiding behind Eren.

"Who is the child?" Erwin asked and found it amusing that the child was obviously scared but he was still trying to act brave.

"This is Levi sir. I found him." No way in hell was he going to tell this man that the child broke in.

"I see. And what are your plans to do with him?"

"I was actually hoping sir, that I could keep him." Eren tried to read Erwin's expression, but couldn't get anything from it. It was just a blank face.

"This isn't a day care Jaeger." The man replied.

"I understand sir, but he hasn't been a problem and I have looked for any relatives or friends that are his that could take him, and I found no one."

"His mother?"

"Deceased."

"Father?"

"I couldn't find him sir." Erwin stared at the child for a minute, pondering.

With each passing minute, the tension grew along with the dread. Eren could just hear it, Erwin saying no, Levi's screams and cries as he was given into someone else's custody...

"I can't allow this." Erwin finally answered. Levi gasped and looked up at Eren, silently pleading to help him. Eren felt it in the bottom of his gut, it took all his strength to speak without his voice shaking.

"With all due respect sir, I don't see a problem. He is usually asleep before curfew, I haven't been late to anything yet, and I don't trust anyone else with this child-"

"It doesn't matter, he can't stay and my word is final." Eren grabbed Levi's hand as he felt his hopes slowly diminish.

"Sir, if he leaves, so do I." Eren was numb at this point, dead set on keeping Levi no matter the cost.

"Jeager, if you leave the MPs will have your head on a platter."

"It's a risk I'm willing to take. Sir, can one child really destroy us? I don't see the problem."

"..." Erwin thought again. If Eren left and was killed, that would definitely hit the Survey Corps back down to step one... not only that, but their funds could go down because of the lack of support if Erwin couldn't control _one_ titan. Then again, there was no guarantee the child would stay out of the way, or that they would behave.

"Sir, please, just one week. That's all I ask." Eren was willing to berg like a dog art this point. Full fledged on all flies, crying his eyes out, begging.

Erwin breathed out lowly and said with great reluctance, "Fine. One week. If anything goes wrong, he goes to the MPs. Am I clear?"

"Yes sir!" Eren couldn't hide the smile. I'm that short minute, all his hopes and happiness had returned. "Thank you sir." He saluted and left in a much happier mood.

"I stay?" Levi asked Eren before looking back at Erwin who was just staring at Levi.

"Yes, you can stay. But you have to be super good or you'll have to leave."

Eren's reply went in one ear and out the other as Levi stared at Erwin. The child had a soft glare almost as if he was trying to intimidate the bigger male.

Erwin smiled lightly and leaned back in his chair. He briefly wondered if Levi would consider joining them when he got older?

The man chuckled as Levi tried to make himself look tough.

'lucky for him, I didnt stand up.' Erwin idly thought smiling at the thought of the tiny boy reacting to such a big man.


	4. Chapter 4

"What are you doing?" Eren turned his head to the side slightly in confusion when he saw the boy climbing up the bookcase.

"Climbing."

"Well, I can see that. Why?" Eren grabbed Levi by his waist and pulled him down.

The boy shrugged. "I just wanted to be tall."

"You'll get tall someday. I promise." Eren ruffled the boy's hair and put him down.

"I dont think cause I was like this when I was born."

"Believe it or not, but you were smaller than that." Eren chuckled at Levi's face.

"There's smaller than this?" The boy asked looking at himself.

"Yes. Now, about your climbing needs..." Eren trailed off for a minute thinking.

"It was just the book place." Levi mumbled.

"Yeah but that's not what you climb on. How about we have lunch and I'll take you some place fun?"

"Where?"

"It's a surprise you'll just have to be a good boy and see." Eren said smiling at Levi's disappointed face.

"Can you just tell me where we're going?"

"I could, but then it wouldn't be a surprise would it?"

Levi sat at the table and studied Eren trying to make Eren tell him where they were going to go. He tried to neutral his expression and read Eren's face to see what he was feeling. In short it wasn't working too well.

"You know, if you're trying to be intimidating you shouldn't suck on your thumb." The teen pointed out.

"Whatever."

"You really shouldn't suck on your thumb."

"Why?"

"Because it's not good for your teeth. It makes them grow weird." The child looked confused for a minute but decided to change the topic.

"I forgot my bear! Stay here. I'll be back." Eren watched him run to the bedroom and he smiled lightly. Where would he going to go? Did Levi really think he'd leave?

The boy returned with his prized bear and sat back in his seat and Eren gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Much to Eren's surprise, Levi almost inhaled the sandwich.

"My bear says he's hungry." Levi said.

"Oh really? Are you sure it's not you?" Eren chuckled.

"No. My bear is hungry. He wants a peanut butter."

"You mean a sandwich?"

"No he wants the sticky stuff on the bread."

"That would be jelly." Eren left for a minute to go find Levi's cup and he looked in the bed, near the bookcase, on the couch, and he even looked in the closet. That's when Eren noticed something.

He came back out to Levi and made Levi look him strait in the eye. "Did you touch my gear?" Eren asked, calm yet firm.

"N-no." Levi looked him in the eye nervously.

"One of my tanks is missing. Do you know where it is?" Levi shook his head. The teen looked the boy in the eyes trying to see if he was lying. He looked more like he was scared he was in trouble than anything. Eren let him go. "I'm going to trust you. But, if you are responsible, you're going to be in big trouble, understand?"

Levi nodded confidently and Eren walked away.

Levi might have taken it, but there was no guarantee the child could lift something like that and not make a sound. Where would he put it anyway?

"Alright, ready to go?" Eren asked and Levi nodded and held his arms up to be carried. "Nope, you're going to walk today." The boy looked at Eren in disbelief.

"But..."

"No buts, you need to walk. You're four almost five, you can walk. And if you don't walk you can't play." Eren picked the cup up from next to the bathroom door and walked back to put juice in it.

Levi pouted and started acting like he was going to throw a tantrum any minute.

"Or we can go to bed. You're choice." Eren shrugged and gave the child a few minutes to decide.

After a while, he helped Levi put his shoes on and they walked to the park. It wasn't a long walk but Levi stayed glued to Eren the entire time.

Luckily, the park was deserted. The child looked at the playground and his eyes widened.

"Go climb all you want." Eren smiled when the boy ran off without a care in the world. Eren sat down and watched him climb and slide and climb some more. The child seemed to climb everywhere, even the places children weren't supposed to climb.

Neither Eren or Levi noticed a group of boys head to the playground. Eren saw them talk to Levi and he stood, ready to go over there if Levi attacked.

But Levi didn't start the fight, the boys did by taking Levi's bear. Eren started walking over getting angry at the bigger group of boys. He watched as Levi bit into the arm of the one who had his bear. When Levi got his bear back, he started backing away from the bigger boys.

Eren was almost there and he was about to tell Levi to come down the slide when the biggest one pushed Levi off the edge and Eren dashed to catch him but Levi hit the ground before he could make it. The boy laid there in shock and if took a half a second before he registered he fell and started to cry.

"That's it." Eren climbed up to where the boys were and towered over them. "You do not touch him like that ever again you hear me?! And if you do, I'll shove you into a titan's mouth. How does that sound?!" Eren glared them down and the group backed off and ran away. His anger made his fists shake, his teeth clench, he glared as hard as he could until he couldn't see the boys.

He then jumped off to the ground and checked on Levi.

"Are you okay?" He asked much softer than how he talked to the other boys.

"I'm sorry!" The boy sobbed hiding his face in his hands.

"Why are you sorry?" Eren picked him up and held him, brushing off the wood chips from his back.

"I was bad!" The child cried holding on to Eren and people started to stare.

"Come on. Let's go home." Eren carried the child home making sure he grabbed Levi's bear. When they got back, the boy still thought he was in trouble and continued to cry.

Eren lightly rubbed his back and shushed him. "Hey, it's okay, you're alright." It took a while before he calmed down.

"Let's go take a bath okay?" Eren carried him to the bathroom and got the bath ready. He then helped Levi take his clothes off more curious to any injuries the child could have than to dirt.

There was a forming bruise along his left shoulder blade as well as down the back of his left thigh. There was also a shallow but long cut running down the back of his left arm.

Eren felt angrier and wished he would've thrown those brats off the platform.

He put the boy in the tub and used his thumb to wipe the tears from the child's eyes.

"I'm sorry, I should've gotten there sooner." Eren said softly feeling like this was his fault. He should've told Levi to leave right when he saw those brats.

"I bit him..." The child whimpered.

"I know, and you shouldn't have done that, but those brats shouldn't have taken your bear or pushed you either." The teen carefully rinsed the dirt off of Levi trying not to hurt him.

The bath was short and Eren just put Levi in his pants because the boy didn't want to wear a shirt. He complained his arm hurt and Eren let it go. Surprisingly, the child willingly took his nap when Eren told him to get in the bed. The teen pet the boy's hair and watched him sleep. He looked so peaceful and he didn't look like he was scared or hurt.

The teen sighed heavily. A part of him wished the boy's mom would turn up to take him, but a bigger part wanted to keep Levi as a little brother. Eren looked to his hand with a smaller hand wrapped around his two fingers. Then again, he felt like a parent.

He felt like he was guiding and teaching and basically raising Levi. Levi listened to him (sometimes) and trusted him enough to act like himself. Eren felt more like a parent than anything. He sighed and carefully rolled Levi over and he looked at the dark bruise on his back. He must have hit something on the way down the fall wasn't that far...

It really wasn't the boy's fault he was so small and easy to push around... He would suffer many more kids like that, eager to push him down and hurt him. Kids were mean little creatures.

It seemed that Levi's only defence was to bite. Eren knew he had to break the habit but it would be hard because that's the only thing this child could do to protect himself...

The teen slowly got up but it was like Levi knew what he was doing, and the child stared to whimper and stir slighty and he held Eren's hand tighter.

The teen groaned softly. Why couldn't Levi just let him go and roll over or something?

Eren tried again, but this time he used his free hand to rub the boy's back and that seemed to work and Eren was able to get up. He aimlessly walked around for a minute and stopped when he heard a thud. He went back to the bedroom and chuckled. Levi rolled out of the bed and was now on the ground disoriented and upset.

"Come on." Eren picked him up and put him back in the bed. "You're just falling out of everything today aren't you?" The teen laid down with the boy again hoping he'd go back to sleep. That was only a 30 minute nap, and if he stayed up he was going to be in a bad mood.

Much to Eren's disappointe Levi stayed awake and complained his head hurt and Eren felt the back of the boy's head and came across a bump. Eren sighed feeling like the child was now just one walking bruise.

"It hurts." The boy tiredly complained.

"I know. You just have to wait for it to heal."

"How long?"

"A week or so."

"A week?!" The child broke down crying complaining a week was too long. Eren rolled his eyes more in annoyance.

"Levi, stop. You're tired and cranky and you need to go back to sleep." The boy only cried harder. "Either you dry it up, or you're going to lay down and take a nap." Eren gave to the count of three before he wrapped Levi up in the blanket and held the fighting boy close.

The child wailed to be let go and he was going to be good but Eren didn't give up. Levi was going to take a nap. It took a half an hour of crying and fighting before the boy calmed down into whimpers and wiggles.

"Why are you so stubborn?" The teen sighed and situated them into a more comfortable spot. The boy looked away from Eren, mad at him and laid there looking to the wall miserably.

It was fifteen minutes later, and Levi was out like a light again. Eren unwrapped the blanket so it wasn't holding levi down, and this time, Eren put pillows on the side of the bed to hopefully stop him from rolling out of bed.

Eren didn't risk it this time, and he stayed there and read his book. Three hours passed and the cold was still asleep. Eren stayed to wonder if something was wrong. Levi really didn't take long naps. He looked at the boy who looked a little red, and from curiosity, he touched his cheek surprised by how warm he was.

Eren sighed on frustration. Levi was running a fever. It was just once thing after another wasn't it?


End file.
